Was It Something I Said?

It is almost impossible to be an opinion columnist without getting at least some people mad at you. Sometimes, the truth — or the columnist’s version of it — hurts.

Still, I like to think that most of my targets over the years who actually know me realize I’m a polite, low-key guy, in spite of what I may write. My job is to express an opinion in an entertaining way, but that doesn’t mean I take any personal pleasure in making my subjects look bad, with a few exceptions.

I think most politicians understand this, which is why I’ve maintained good relationships with the people I write about, including several Hall of Famers. I actually like most of these people.

So when I learned that Northampton County Executive Glenn Reibman was participating in the same fund-raising golf tournament I was on last Saturday, I was amused by someone’s warning that he can’t stand me. Even when one of his playing partners from The Morning Call told me afterward that he was ranting and raving about me and former opinion page editor Glenn Kranzley during the first few holes, I didn’t take it too seriously.

Rather than avoid him, I found where Reibman was sitting for dinner and walked over to joke with him and talk about his round.

Those guys weren’t kidding. He REALLY doesn’t like me.

In fact, when I started to extend my hand, he looked at me like I was handing him an asp. No handshake for me. And although I ignored the snub and kidded about his round and mine and complimented his daughter Morgan on what I had heard about her golf game, he started in on my skills as a “fiction writer,” maintaining the gritted-teeth fake half-smile that was one of his hallmarks back in his politician days.

Bitter much?

I have to tell you that I was taken aback by this. So I decided to go back and review what I’ve written about Reibman over the years, to see where I went wrong.

Believe it or not, our computerized library system produced nine screens of stories when I searched for “bill white” and “glenn reibman.” The first reference was back in 1989, when I was writing columns once a week while also serving as our Easton bureau chief. I briefly made fun of something silly he said as a Northampton County councilman.

For years after that, there were passing references to his opinions as County Council president, and one cute anecdote from 1994 involving Morgan, age 5. I had forgotten all about it.

But it wasn’t until he became county executive in 1999 that the columns really kicked into gear. I won’t bore you with the details, but my comments over the next several years basically boil down to this summary of negative and positive:

1. Jobs and contracts in his administration too often seemed to be for sale, culminating in the fraud and tax evasion conviction of his chief henchman, Michael Solomon, and many allegations of pay to play.

2. He was a lousy leader, heavily dependent on administration director Jim Hickey to actually talk to people. I called Reibman the Zombie King and satirically suggested that he was a robot controlled by space aliens.

3. Implementation of his $111 million bond issue was marked by bad planning, and much of the bond was motivated by Solomon’s plan to spread money around four corners of the county to help Reibman be re-elected.

4. His inclusion of money in the bond to fund roads and other improvements in the Bethlehem Steel brownfield area has been a major factor in redevelopment hopes for South Bethlehem, and I felt he deserved credit for that.

5. His decision to dump an outside vendor and have the county run its own 911 system was a good thing for taxpayers.

6. After losing the 2005 Democratic primary election to John Stoffa, he accepted a patronage job with the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, a notorious job placement service for political hacks.

Looking back at all this and Reibman’s lingering bitterness, was I out of line? Did I write anything that was untrue? Do I regret being overly unkind?

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Current Comments

Bill, the Zombie line cracked me up. You didn't write any fiction, you told the truth. There are a lot of newswriters, bloggers, and wannabees that can't say that. If Reibman is that thin skinned and still holding a grudge, that is his loss.

The truth usually hurts - someone. Generally it is the people who others recognize as not so nice, but who have such inflated opinions of themselves that they truly think they do no wrong.

Posted By: Linda G. | Jul 22, 2009 7:30:56 PM

Of course, it's possible that he might not like your opinions about something else entirely: maybe you insulted a close friend of his, or his mother, or a pet cause or something. People can sometimes be touchier about such things than about themselves.

Not that you should worry about it; that chip on his shoulder hurts him more than you I wager.

If pee-pulls thinxs Glenn has faults, what about Judge Eddie? Teddy bear as to.....................?

heh, heh. Ouch. That's an ouch-me!

Posted By: walkie wawtmire | Jul 22, 2009 9:30:01 PM

Bernie, he thinks I'm a prince compared to you.

Posted By: bill white | Jul 22, 2009 10:50:11 PM

I knew when he was running for County Executive that he was so wrong for the County. I told a few people that he was going to be an awful County Executive. I was proven so right. What I don't understand is why people voted for him. He had a false smile and such a limp handshake. After all these years I am still amazed this man won anything. I think the only reason he did was because of his aunt, Jeannette Reibman. Just because the name was the same, the character was not.

Posted By: Valerie Evers | Jul 23, 2009 10:12:29 PM

Did you see that he's running for State Senate? We had a story in this morning's paper.

Posted By: bill white | Jul 24, 2009 10:34:13 AM

Reibman will not win that Senate district.
Bucks and Montgomery County voters will blow him off.